The Art Expo of the Laurelton Charter School shows student voices through global topics – QNS

The 9-year-old Dakota Barton showed her costume design outfit based on Charlie and the chocolate factory.

Photo by Athena Dawson

Local students celebrated their creativity in the annual art exhibition of the Merrick Academy Charter School, which took place on Thursday, April 24th in the school of the school in the 136-25 218th St. in Laurelton.

This year's exhibition entitled “On My Journey” showed works of art by students from classes K-5, including expressive paintings, textile creations, 3D printed pieces and digital designs. The show examined topics such as identity, self -expression and cultural heritage and served as a culminating presentation of the work of the students throughout the school year.

Curated by director Yvonne Anderson and Steam Director Michelle Harrison, the shop window contained lessons and instructions from teaching artists Fabio Puentes and the award -winning designer Monique Glover.

Glover, who teaches art 3-5, said the exhibition represented the issues of diversity and the expansion of one's own journey as an artist. “I think this exhibition illustrates how we can grow at our desks that do our homework, scribble and draw and use our imagination,” she said. “Art is such an important part of life to understand that we do not all share the same perspectives, but at the same time we can all love each other and still represent really great art.”

Much of the work of art concentrated on various world regions and epochs of history, such as the Harlem Renaissance and Patchwork designs inspired by it. Other topics of the artwork range from the embodiment of the works of Alma Thomas, Basquiat and Picasso to the replication of the drawing styles of the American indigenous people and the masks inspired by Ugandian tribal designs.

As an international Baccalaureate school, Anderson emphasized the importance of the exception of students of various art forms. Thanks to the art exhibition, the students gain practical experience in everything, from technology to 3D art, sewing, painting and other art forms. “It is an opportunity to show multimedia, multi -forms and mixed media in art to inspire students not only to connect with the curriculum, but also to combine them with their curriculum, but also to connect with themselves and their culture,” she said.

With the Merrick Academy, which represents a large student population within the black diaspora, Anderson added that the curriculum reflects the cultural experiences and identities of the students. “We are one of the oldest charter schools in Queens, so it is extremely important for us to based the culture of the community in the community and really accept it,” she said.

During the day, the students dripped into the school's gym to see the living works of art and visit the various global regions that represent them. They wore passport books that were stamped by the students volunteers who gave overviews of the work of art and shared the designs on which they worked.

Some of the fourth and student ambassadors of the 5th grade endeavored to share how their fashion designs were transformed into real outfits.

Dakota Barton, 9, is a 4th grade student ambassador, who presented her costume design based on Charlie and the chocolate factory. Her unique costume, which contained an ice cream strand and chocolate dress, was sewn by Glover. “Since my hot chocolate likes and I also like chocolate, I thought maybe a chocolate person could be fit,” she said.

In a section with the day with the earth, the students showed digitally designed and hand-painted T-shirts. They also created upcycled jewelry inspired by the Masai Tribe, a nomad that lives in Central Africa.

For Paris Burgher 10, this was the first time that she designed a T-shirt digitally. “I wanted to portray the earth by making an earth symbol and a quote, the earth is our jewel and our crown. I loved it to design it. I want to make another shirt. It was not so heavy and I used canvas,” she said. The fifth graders added that she hopes that her design will inspire other students to treat the earth with care.

In other sections, students work on their own self -portraits, inspired by the famous artist of the White House and portrait painter Kehinde Wiley. Glover said Wiley was a great example for students how artists can inspire Schwarze through their work. “It is a great way to strengthen yourself and make your own self -portraits and show yourself whether it is more realistic or some of you are a bit more expressive, you can definitely get an idea of ​​your personalities through your work,” she said.

Puentes, who teaches the K-2 art classes, said that he was impressed by how qualified and innovative the younger students were. Some of the young people had shown abstract portraits that were inspired by Pablo Picasso, including various colors, textures and brush techniques that were generated by watercolor and oil pastels.

Kindergarten students also tried their hands in portraits inspired by Basquiat, which merged abstract forms, gel colors and pipecleaners to create mini-master works. “You did a really great job. You notice the creativity that younger students have … The shapes of the eyes … they really had fun with it,” he said.

Merrick Academy was founded in 2000 and is one of the first charter schools in New York City and the very first in Queens. The school is recognized for its steam -oriented training and is currently undergoing an expansion. A brand new four-story school building will be built in the 134-11 221st St. in Laurelton, Queens, and is scheduled to open in autumn 2026.